Page 95 of Beast: Part Two

Gates holds his hands up. “We come in peace,” he says looking at all of us. We have yet to drop our weapons. “Today you are burying a friend, a brother,” his voice catches on the last word. “A father, and a damn good man. We are here to make sure that he gets the burial he deserves. You can relax, boys. You are amongst allies.”

Hawk’s arm drops first, followed by everyone else. I’m the last to put my arm down.

The three guys I’ve never met before step forward. All three are tall, but not as tall as me. One has short blonde hair and scars on his face. The second younger looking one has dark brown hair and as many tattoos as Seth. The other one is a business type guy with the same dark hair with brown eyes.

The business guy holds out a hand toward me. I shake it.

“My name is Niccolo Basille, I’m a friend of Priest. These are my brothers, Salvito Delgado and Kazimir. Our oldest brother Mason couldn’t make it. However, he sends his condolences and his own personal guards.” He points to the men up on the hill with large guns.

“We wanted to make sure that Priest was put away with all the respect he deserves.”

I nod, thankful for their help.

“How long have you known Priest?” Lucien asks beside me.

Niccolo smiles. “We all met him when we were young boys. What age do you think we were, Vito?”

The guy with the tattoos chuckles. “I might’ve been about five or six.”

Church recruits? But they aren’t members of the Church and they damn sure didn’t come in under Priest because he never had another class.

“We appreciate the fire power and you guys joining us today,” Maksim says.

“Between their guys and ours,” Cardinal Taylor says. “We have the cemetery covered. If anybody steps on this land with the intent to cause problems, they won’t live to see another day.”

“Thank you,” Lucien says. “I know Priest would appreciate this.” His voice cracks at the end of his sentence.

“He would do the same thing for all of us,” Bishop Gates says.

They step back making a pathway to the burial site. I turn around and open the back door. Summer steps out first and then she turns to get Gabe out. She picks him up and he buries his face in her shoulder. After shutting the door, I take him from his mother. He looks me in the eyes as the first tear falls. He swipes it away.

“I’ll be brave, Hulk.”

I shut my eyes and inhale before opening them back up to stare at him.

“Not today, Gabe. Today, you don’t have to be brave.”

He nods his head as his tears start to fall freely. Grabbing Summer’s hand, I walk over to my brothers. Brooklyn is on one side of Albany and Pheonix is on the other side of her. She’s holding onto Charlie as she visibly shakes with her sobs. We follow behind her as we walk over to Priest’s casket.

I didn’t hear most of the things the priest said. I don’t even know if anyone got up and spoke on his behalf. My mind was blank as I stared at the black casket with gold trim. My father, the man that made me who I am, was gone. A part of me was going with him.

As I stared, I made a vow to him. I vowed that I would avenge him, and then I would join him. If my father could not be here to be with his family, then neither should I. I was the reason he was there. I didn’t deserve the happiness he couldn’t have.

Summer’s hand tightens around mine. I look over at her. Her eyes are red, but they stare at me with so much concern. It’s almost as if she could hear my thoughts. As much as I loved her, I knew that I would have to break my promise to her. I told her I wouldn’t leave her again, but I had to. I couldn’t stay on this side with her. My guilt would never allow it.

Instead of telling her that, I squeeze her hand back and drop a kiss on her forehead. When I lean back up, I shift Gabe in my lap. I would make sure they were taken care of before I go.

We all stand when the priest tells us to. The cemetery workers hand the women with us a rose. They all walk over to the casket and toss them into the hole as they lower Priest’s body down. Summer walks back over to me and grabs my hand. I set Gabe down when Emory comes up beside me. She takes his hand after handing him a rose. They both walk hand and hand over to the hole and toss their flowers inside. The last one to walk over to the casket is Albany.

She still has Charlie in her arms. She clutches her rose to her chest. Her body shakes as she sobs. When the cries break away from her closed lips. My tears start to fall.

“Please, God. I can’t,” she pleads. “You can’t leave me, Nathaniel. You can’t,” she sobs.

Her body starts to tremble. I recognize it before it happens. Releasing Summer’s hand, I rush to Albany’s side. My self andmy brothers all get to her at the same time. She collapses to the ground, but we are all there to grab her. She lets out a gut-wrenching sob.

“You can’t leave us. You can’t leave Charlie,” she repeats.

We wrapped our arms around her. I looked into my brothers’ faces and there was nothing but pain and determination staring back at me.

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